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Questions & Answers about Boli cię gardło?
Why isn't there a word for 'your', like twoje, in this sentence?
In Polish, you generally don't use possessive pronouns like twoje (your) or moje (my) with body parts. It is already clear from context whose body it is! Instead of saying 'your throat', the sentence is structured more like 'Does the throat hurt you?'.
Wait, so what is the subject of this sentence?
The subject is actually gardło (throat). The verb boli (hurts) is in the 'it' form to match the throat. The word cię (you) is the object experiencing the pain. So the literal translation is 'Is the throat hurting you?'.
Why use the short form cię instead of the longer ciebie?
Cię is the short, unstressed form of the pronoun. It is used here because the focus of the question is on the pain, not on who is feeling it. You would only use the long form ciebie if you were making a strong contrast, for example: 'Does it hurt YOU (and not him)?'.
Why is the verb boli at the very beginning of the sentence?
Polish word order is flexible, but putting the verb first is a very common and natural way to ask yes/no questions about someone's physical state. You could also say Gardło cię boli?, but starting with the verb emphasizes the action of hurting.